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A New Year’s Eve party in Kuala Lumpur was turned into a protest event as thousands of Malaysians voiced their opposition to looming price hikes in several basic goods and services.

Organized mainly by students, the Reduce Cost of Living Movement (Gerakan Turun Kos Sara Hidup), or Turun mobilized thousands to join the annual New Year countdown at Dataran Merdeka park and use the occasion to protest against the rising cost of living in the country.

The government has announced that it will be cutting fuel and sugar subsidies to rationalize public spending. On the other hand, there will be price increases in electricity tariffs, petrol, sugar, assessment rates for Kuala Lumpur properties, public transport fees and toll rates for highways.

The police allowed the protesters to go near the venue but they accused the protesting youth of disrupting the event. Fireworks were cancelled and the concert was stopped which disappointed many people.

Actually, they are only a small group trying to ride on the wave of the New Year celebration to give an impression that the rally received a widespread support with the visuals downloaded onto social websites.

Meanwhile, the protesters denied they were unruly during the activity and they cited the community singing of the national anthem before the dispersal of the protest as proof that ordinary Malaysians were supportive of the protest.

Using the Twitter hashtag #turun, Malaysian netizens shared their reactions about the protest. Some expressed admiration for the bravery of the protesters but others urged the group to air their grievances at a proper time and venue.

It is not that our prices went sky-high that we need a #Turun. It's our bloody purchasing power have been systematically eroded.

A few days ago, the government announced that it will implement 11 austerity measures in an apparent bid to quell the rising public dissatisfaction over the price hikes. But despite this announcement, the Turun protest continued to pushed through.